Utility sees power buy for RI from Maine wind farm

AP , Associated Press

Oct. 10, 20137:23 AM ET

WARWICK, R.I. (AP) — National Grid is looking to buy power for Rhode Island from a land-based wind farm in Maine at below-market prices.

Under a power purchase agreement presented to state regulators on hearing Wednesday, National Grid would pay 7.8 cents per kilowatt hour for power from the proposed 48-megawatt wind farm that would be built on Bowers Mountain.

The Providence Journal reports (http://bit.ly/qYXi8C ) that the 15-year contract with Champlain Wind does not include price increases over time. By comparison, conventional power generators are subject to fluctuations in the prices of fuels.

Filings with regulators say the total below-market savings for the Bowers project are estimated at $49 million.